


bring me back (from carolina)

by Fives (janfives90)



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Civil War AU, F/F, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22665829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: She opens the door to a man standing on her porch, his blue uniform tattered and worn.“Miss Alyssa,” he greets softly. “Is your mother home?”“Mr. Boomer.” Alyssa shakes her head. “No, she’s not. Can I take a message for her?”He sighs and takes off his hat. “No. I was merely hoping you weren’t alone.”
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57





	bring me back (from carolina)

**I.**

She opens the door to a man standing on her porch, his blue uniform tattered and worn.

“Miss Alyssa,” he greets softly. “Is your mother home?”

“Mr. Boomer.” Alyssa shakes her head. “No, she’s not. Can I take a message for her?”

He sighs and takes off his hat. “No. I was merely hoping you weren’t alone.”

Alyssa’s stomach sinks. “Alone for what?”

“I, uh… Look, maybe we should wait-”

“Nick. Please.”

He swallows and pauses before meeting her gaze. “It’s your friend. Emma Nolan. I was sent to inform you that she’s been killed.”

Alyssa tightens her jaw, holding back her emotions, trying to keep her true feelings in check. “How?”

“She was on a transport ship with another group of soldiers when it was sunk by the Rebels. As far as can be told, nobody survived.”

Alyssa hesitates. “As far as can be told?”

Nick gives a tired sigh. “It’s a damn big river, Alyssa.”

“Yes, and she’s… my best friend, Nicholas.” She swallows. “Emma isn’t dead. I’d know it if she was. Don’t come tell me otherwise unless you’re _sure.”_

“Alyssa,” Nick starts, a patient tone in his voice.

“You can come in for a drink and to take a rest if you’d like, Mr. Boomer,” Alyssa interrupts, turning away from the door. “But if you say one more word of this, I’ll throw you out of this house by your ear.”

Nick gives a small, sad shake of his head, then follows.

* * *

**II.**

She opens the door to a woman standing on her porch, her blue uniform tattered and worn.

“Are you Miss Alyssa Greene?”

“I am. And you are?”

“I’m Brigadier General Allen. You are listed as the next of kin for Sergeant Major Emma Nolan, is that correct?”

Alyssa feels a rock in her throat. “...I am.”

General Allen nods. “Regretfully, Miss Greene, I must inform you that Sergeant Major Nolan was killed last week.”

“Oh, so you mean she didn’t die in the boat sinking you people already told me she died in?” Alyssa asks dryly.

General Allen raises an eyebrow. “I’m not sure-”

“What was it this time?”

“Artillery fire killed every member of a unit Sergeant Major Nolan was scheduled to meet up with. There were no survivors. The bodies cannot be identified, but-”

“Then she’s not dead.” Alyssa shakes her head. “I would know if she was.”

“Miss Greene-”

Alyssa closes the door in General Allen’s face and covers her mouth with her hand, muffling a terrified sob.

* * *

**III.**

She opens the door to a man standing on her porch, his blue uniform tattered and worn.

“What do you want, Barry?” she asks, exhausted.

Colonel Barry Glickman reaches out and sets a hand on her shoulder. “Who told you?”

Alyssa rubs at her temple. “Which time?”

“...What?”

“If you’re here to tell me, yet again, that you think Emma is dead, with no evidence, just get it over with. I’m tired of hearing it.”

Barry lowers his hand slowly. “I… don’t have a body,” he says carefully. “But I have a letter from a prison camp in Carolina saying she’s been executed, and one of our spies reported that she saw Emma get shot.”

Alyssa flinches. “They have to be wrong. I’d know. I’d know if Emma was dead. I’d _know,_ Bar-”

“Hey.” Barry grips her shoulder again. “I know what she means to you,” he whispers. “Okay? I _know._ If I didn’t believe what I got, I would not have brought it to you. I just think you deserve to be told. If I find out that it isn’t true, trust me, you will be the first to know.”

“It has to be wrong, Barry,” she whispers. “I don’t know what I’ll do if it isn’t.”

He squeezes her shoulder gently. “I know.”

* * *

**IV.**

She opens the door to a person walking up the path towards her porch, blue uniform tattered and worn.

Their short hair is blackened by what looks like a combination of mud and ash, and there are stains of soot and dirt on their wool clothes. The rifle in their grip hangs loosely, almost hitting the ground.

It takes a moment before recognition sinks into Alyssa’s brain.

“Emma,” she whispers. _“Emma!”_

She sprints off the porch, ignoring her dress, ignoring the mud, ignoring the soot. Emma lifts her head and registers what Alyssa is going to do just in time to drop her rifle and catch her as Alyssa throws herself at her.

“Lord,” Emma mutters. “Ow.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Alyssa drops back down, cupping Emma’s face in her hands, just barely resisting the urge to kiss her out in the open. “You’re okay. You’re alive.”

“I’m alive.” Emma gently rests her forehead against Alyssa’s. She pulls a pocket bible out from inside her uniform coat and shows it to her, a bullet buried in the cover. “The idiot who shot me managed to hit this instead of literally anywhere else, and when they realized what had saved my life they kinda figured it would be a bad idea for them to try killing me again. As a woman of my persuasion, it was pretty satisfying to have a bible save me from getting shot by Confederates.” She pauses. “Well, killed by Confederates. I suppose they _did_ shoot me. It just will apparently take more than one bullet to kill me.”

“...And more than a boat sinking, and more than some artillery fire,” Alyssa jokes.

“Huh?”

“Oh Lord, you don’t even know, do you?” Alyssa asks, watching the confusion on Emma’s face.

“Know...?”

Alyssa brushes her thumb against Emma’s cheek. “Why don’t I bring you inside and help you get out of that uniform and cleaned up, and then I’ll tell you?”

Emma turns her head and presses a soft kiss to Alyssa’s palm, her eyes dark. “I think I find that plan rather acceptable.”

Alyssa pulls her into a hug and sighs quietly. “I knew,” she whispers.

Emma hugs her back. “Knew what?”

“I would know if you were dead.”

Emma hugs her just a little bit tighter. “You would. But don’t worry, Lys. You won’t have to find out for a very long time.”


End file.
